Marvel Assembles Avengers at Comic-Con, Including New Hulk Mark Ruffalo

Avengers assemble at Comic-Con!

SAN DIEGO — Samuel L. Jackson brought the full lineup of The Avengers movie onstage Saturday at Comic-Con International. The big casting news: Mark Ruffalo will play Bruce Banner and Jeremy Renner will play Hawkeye.

“Anybody see Inception?” Downey asked. “I think that was probably just about the most ambitious movie I’ve ever seen. And then I thought, ‘Wait a goddamn second. Marvel Studios is going to take all of their top superheroes and they’re gonna put them all together in The Avengers? That’s the most ambitious movie I’ve ever seen.”

Downey introduced Ruffalo, demanding that fans welcome the actor into the role formerly played by Edward Norton.

It was the kind of revelation that confirms Comic-Con’s Hall H as ground zero for genre film announcements, with studio panels becoming increasingly like Apple’s patented product reveals. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige even ripped off Steve Jobs’ “one more thing” bit, tacking on the Avengers casting news and curtain call after showing footage of Thor and Captain America. See video of the Avengers announcement below.

“I had a dream,” said the typically self-deprecating Whedon, “and it was not this cool. I want to thank Kevin [Feige] so much, for bringing me on, for trusting me, and assembling my dream team. This is the Avengers,” he said referring to the actors on the stage.

“A team is more than the sum of its parts,” Whedon continued, “this cast is more than I could ever have dreamed for. And I am going to blow it!”